The private rooms are private, you have privacy in there and no-one will enter but we were asked to sign a disclosure that confirms that we don't have tattoos.

Thanks for the informative post! We do have tattoos but would hate to miss out on the onsen experience. In your private room were you ever sighted by staff? I know its sneaky but we would pay for the private room if it meant we could soak in peace with our tattoos unbeknownst to them.

Thanks

Hi Dee, the shuttle to Hakone Yuryo from Hakone Yumoto station is literally 5 minutes and the onsen complex doesn't open until 10, I think I linked the shuttle timetable in the article. From Tokyo it will depend a lot on which train company you are using and where in Tokyo you are leaving from but as an indication around 70 minutes from Tokyo station to Hakone Yamoto with bullet train, 80 minutes with limited express and 110 minutes on the local train. You don't need to start at Tokyo station though, depending on where you are staying there may be quicker / more cost effective options.

Hi Maurice, You can share the private rooms both male and female, they are popular for couples or families.

Firstly great blog. Getting very excited for my first trip to Japan in May 🙂

With the private rooms are these unisex or came both female & males use them?

Ryan

Thanks Glenice. The private 'room' includes an entrance way (genkan) where you remove your shoes and put on guest slippers, a sitting room area that we really didn't use other than to put our bags down, a small dressing room that has a mirror, hairdryer, body lotion etc. Then you go out through the sliding doors and the traditional style shower area is out there with the pool which is fully screened so you have privacy for the full process, it was one things I really liked about their setup when comparing to some others I researched.

Hi Pen, Yes it's definitely possible, we combined the two last month but in the opposite order. We like to take our time so it wasn't rushed. Using the Odakyu Romancecar you will arrive at Hakone-Yumoto station. You can't walk to the Open Air museum but it's very easy, from Hakone-Yumoto you catch the Tozan railway headed for Gora and get off at the Chokoku no Mori station, it's about 35 minutes on the train then just a couple of minutes walk from there to the museum. Have fun!